Journey Behind the Falls is operated by Niagara Parks and takes visitors 150 feet underground via elevator to a series of tunnels carved into the rock directly behind the Horseshoe Falls. Two observation portals emerge behind the curtain of water, and an upper observation deck puts you at the very edge of the falls. Free ponchos are provided in summer — they are not optional.
The experience is exactly what the name promises: you are standing behind the falls, with the full weight of the water a few feet away, separated only by rock and a viewing window. The noise is extraordinary. The winter experience (when the falls partially freeze and the ice formations build on the cliff face) is uniquely dramatic and the queues are much shorter. This is one Niagara Falls experience that is genuinely not overhyped.